Separator-screen.



B. C.' CALDERWOOD. SEPARATOR SCREEN. APPLICATION FILED APR. 30. 1913.

15222332, Patented Apr. 17, 1917.

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B. c@ CALDERWOOD, SEPARATOR SCREEN.

APPLICATlON FILED APR- 30, 1913. 11. gm jmgm Patented Apr. 17, 1917.

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BENJAMIN CRABTBEE CALDERWOOD, F VALLEY FALLS, RHODE ISLAND, ASSIGNOB TOPRICE-CAI-IIPBELL CDTTON YEICKER CORPURATION, 015 NEW YORK,

anon on DELAWARE.

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Application filed April 30, 1913.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that It, BENJAMIN CRABTREE Cnnnnmvoon, a citizen of theUnited States, residing at Valley Falls, in the county of Providence andState of lthodelsland, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin SeparatonScreens, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in separator screens for cottoncleaners on cotton-picking machines whereby a series of spring wires issecured to a holder at the upper end, said spring wires-being parallelto one another, and in such close proximity that seed cotton will notpass through, while dirt, sand, leaf trash, motes, and all small foreignmatter can pass through with ease. These spring wires bein secured onlyby one end to the holder, act like a series of vibrating tongues whenthe machine is in motion, thereby loosening any cotton which may adherethereto, which is drawn back into the cleaners by an action to beexplained in a subsequent paragraph.

My separator screen is attached to the cleaner housing; a loop passedaround but clear of the free ends of the spring wires and secured to theholder, aiding in locating the separator screen on said housing. Thehousing, with separator screen attached, is directly over thebreaker-tan card-roller and combined doft'er-and-fan in the cleaners, inwhich the cotton is flufi'ed and the fibers otherwise separated by thebreaker tan, which also breaks up any foreign matter, such as cottonburs, sticks or leaves which may find access to the cleaners. The cottonis next taken by the card roller, to which it adheres until removed bythe dofler fan. This dofi er tan serves a twofold purpose: first, itcreates a strong current of air which finds its outlet through theseparator screen, and carries with it the dirt from the cotton whilethis cotton still adheres to the card roller; and second, dolls thecotton from the card roller when it reaches a fixed point. Such cottonas is carried or blown against the under side of the separator screen,which is placed on an incline on the housing, is rapidly worked downwardunder the combined action of gravity, the air current from the dofi'ertan and the vibration of the spring wires; said cotton being caught bythe breaker fan and the reverse current of air generated by the same, issnatched back Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. it, 1917,

Serial No. 764,523.

through the opening provided for this purpose at the lower end of thespring wires, or vibrating tongues, into the cleaners,

where the same process as heretofore described is repeated in the secondsection of said cleaner.

From the above it will be understood that the free ends of the vibratingspring wires leave an opening between the ends oi? said spring wires andthe cleaner housing, for the' purpose of releasing such cotton which hashad the staple or lint wound or twisted around these spring wires, toagain reenter the cleaner.

The objects of my invention are: first to provide means for eliminatingall foreign matter from the picked cotton; and second, to preventclogging and loss of cotton from the cleaners.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof,

Figure 1 is an isometric assembly of the cleaner, with the forwardhousing removed to show the relative positions of the breaker tan, cardroller and dofler fan. The rear housing is in place, with the separatingscreen attached thereto and showing an opening between the housing andthe ends of the spring wires.

F 1gs. 2 and 8 are details of the separatorscreen.

Fig. i shows in longitudinal section a device of the cleaner shown inFig. 1, the apparatus being duplicated as actually constructed incotton-picking machines embodying this invention.

In the drawings, 1 is the elevator housing, 2 the elevator belts, 3 thecleaners, as the entire mechanism is known, and t the first conveyerbelt in the cleaners. 5 is the first breaker fan, 6 the card roller, and7 the combined tan and dotter. 8 are the vibrating tongues or springwires in the separator screen, 9 the holder, while 10 designates theopening between the housing and the ends of the spring wires. 11 is therear housing, 12 the rear lower outlet for trash, and 13 the middlelower outlet whereby dirt may leave the cleaners.

The cotton enters the cleaners by the elevator belts 2 in the elevatorhousing 1, and is deposited upon the conveyor belt a from which it ispicked up by the breaker fan 5, which ilutls and otherwise separates thecotton fibers, and also breaks up unduly-large pieces of trash andforeign matter. The cotton is then caught by the card roller 6, whichcarries it around on its periphery until dofl'ed by the combinedfan-and-dofier 7, this latter rotating rapidly in a direction oppositeto the rotation of the card roller, thus creating a strong current ofair which finds its outlet through the separator screen 8 and whichcarries with it such trash as does not find an outlet through theopenings 12 and 13. The breaker fan 5 rotates in a direction opposite tothat of the combined fan-and-doffer, thereby creating a current of airof lesser strength, but in a direction reverse to that of thefan-and-doil'er; the latter blows the air from the cleaner out, whilethe breaker fan draws it in. The result is that the cotton is workeddownward on the separator screen until caught by the current of air fromthe breaker fan, or by the breaker fan itself as this is in closeproximity to the separator screen, which whips it back into thecleaners. The holder 9 is a transverse bar carrying the spring wires ortongues 8 like tines, and this bar 9 is provided with an approximatelyU-shaped carrier 9, the ends of this carrier being anneXed to the bar 9at the ends thereof so that the tongues or tines 8 lie between its sideportions, the free ends of the tines 8 pointing toward its transverseportion 9*, and the opening 10 being between the ends of the tines andthe transverse portion 9 The latter is held to the casing by eyes orstaplelike fasteners 9, and the screen thus formed slants upwardly forsome distance to the bar or holder 9, leaving the free end-portions ofthe tines free to vibrate when the apparatus is in use in consequence ofthe movement of the machine itself. After this the cotton passes througha second cleaning process similar to that already described, after whichit is deposited in the proper receptacles. There is a second breaker fanunder the screen.

What I claim is:

A separating screen for use in a cottoncleaner attached to acotton-picking machine, said screen comprising a series of vibratingtines secured to a transverse holder; an approximately U-shaped carrierthe free ends of which are secured to the holder, and the transverseportion of which passes the ends of the tines at a distance therefrom;the transyerse member of the carrier being adapted for attachment to acotton-cleaner; a fan dofi'er; a card roller; and a breaker fan locatedbelow the tines; all combined and operating substantially as and for thepurpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses, this 25th day of April, 1913.

BENJAMIN ORABTREE OALDERWOOD.

WVitnesses:

G. BLAKE, WILLIAM J. Doncn.

. Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. 0.

